On page 26, Economist Colm McCarthy details his view that the Environmental Protection Agency emissions report published last week was old news before it was even published.

He suggests that what is more important is the World Meteorological report, which details a global view of the challenge. It’s particularly hard for Irish farmers when they travel to other countries and see what is happening in terms of the dearth of regulation compared to what is expected in Ireland. Colm highlights the growing emissions from the US, China and India and their relative scale to Ireland. The higher prices for beef, sheep and milk are directly related to supply and demand. However, if you can’t increase supply, it’s hard to secure the additional benefits given the extra costs.

It’s hard to see how the Department will garner back respect and trust of those farmers still not paid ACRES money for 2023 or 2024.

Of course the Department is not to blame for all of the delays to individual farmers, but to arrive into June 2025 and still have some 2023 payments outstanding seems farcical.

If the shoe was on the other foot, the poor farmers would be locked up. How some form of interim payment wasn’t made possible, is hard to credit.

It would have allowed the Department continue but at the same time give the farmer a large percentage of what was owed.

With one month to go to the minister’s self imposed deadline to have payments complete, it will need all hands on deck to make the ACRES money flow.